This document has been placed in the public domain by Sam Trenholme

# Intoduction to DNS

This document is meant to be an introduction to DNS for someone who has never administrated a DNS server or registered a domain before. Being a part of the MaraDNS package, this tutorial assumes that one is using the MaraDNS package.

## What is DNS?

DNS is the method that the internet uses to convert difficult-to-remember numbers, such as '10.17.243.32', in to easy-to-remember names, such as 'www.yahoo.com'. The reason for this conversion is because the underlying protocol for the internet, TCP/IP, uses difficult-to-remember numbers to connect to other computers.

## What is a DNS server

A DNS server is a program that performs the DNS conversion from names in to number. There are two kinds of DNS servers out there:

- DNS servers which can convert most DNS nodes in to thier corresponding number. These DNS servers are called recursive DNS servers. This kind of server can not change the names of any DNS nodes out there. Instead, they simply ask other DNS servers the IP for a given DNS node.
- DNS servers which can only convert DNS nodes which a DNS server administrator manages from DNS nodes in to IPs. The DNS server administrator can change the IPs that the DNS nodes have. These kinds of DNS servers are called authoritative DNS servers. Recursive DNS servers contact authoritative DNS servers in order to learn the IP for a given DNS node.

MaraDNS is both a recursive and an authoritative DNS server. Whether one needs a recursive or an authoritative DNS server depends on what one is trying to do with dns:

- If one simply wishes to contact other sites on the internet, one only needs to set up a recursive DNS server. Tutorial for setting up MaraDNS as a recursive DNS server
- If one wishes to register domains, and have their own computers serve the domain names in question, then one needs to set up an authoritative DNS server. Tutorial for setting up MaraDNS as an authoritative DNS server.
- If one has a current DNS setup using another DNS server, this document details how to convert from another DNS server to MaraDNS.

Some other documentation is here, including A glossary.